hi is it a good idea to use seafoam in my 95 passodeo ? it runs awesome ,just that ANNOYING TICKING !! has anybody else used it for the lifters ? or would the marvel mystery oil stuff be better ?? or is there some other stuff that works , i used risolene it doesnt really work .

From my understanding, the ticking has more to do with wear then anything else, however, on this engine, it's more of an annoyance then an actual issue.

First off, what oil and viscosity and filter are you using?

For some reason, on this 3.2L there are certain oil filters that cause more ticking.

On my truck, I've used Bosch, Mobil 1, and a few others at some point; they've actually caused my engine to be noisey....I'm one of the few with the 3.2L engine's that's actually very quiet, mine does not tick; but I am the original owner too and that has a lot to do with it.

On my truck, there's only 2 oil filters I will use; Napa gold or K&N

For oil, I use Maxlife 5w-30 or the 10w-30; I refuse to use anything thicker, cause I personally believe the engine has to work harder, and I've never had a reason to use a thick oil - even with towing a heavy boat and living in the desert heat.

I'm not a fan of additives in the crankcase at all; for one, the crud didn't get there overnight, you also don't want to loosen it overnight....can actually cause more damage to bearings, etc by loosening up too much debris too soon.

IMHO, Rotella synthetic (blue bottle) at Walmart, is a diesel/gasoline engine oil in the 5w-40 viscosity...it is known for very good cleaning properties, but it takes several months and several thousand miles....IMHO, though, this is the best and safest way.

Do an oil change every 3k miles with a GOOD quality oil filter with this oil for a good year and see if things improve....if not, your best bet is to tear down the engine and rebuild if the noise bothers you....otherwise, I'm sure your truck runs just fine with or without the noise.

I use Seafoam on almost every vehicle I work on.
Did a valve cover gasket on a Camry 3 weeks ago and I have never seen so much carbon in my life, literally everything that moved created a pocket around it and the rest was pure carbon. We took chunks out of it, all of that to say we ran a full can of Seafoam through it and ran it hard for a while then changed the oil. No problems with it, going to do it every time we change the oil on that specific vehicle from now on. That is just one case of personal experience with abnormal carbon build up that helped it. No clogged oil passages that we know of but I could also see how that would be a concern on that specific car but the average car IMHO would be fine.
I used it on an old Honda I owned, 1/3 of the can in the gas tank, 1/3 through the oil, and the rest of it through the brake booster line and had great results. Not running it on my specific Passport because just had the valve covers off and the engine was remarkably clean.
I recommend it.

SEAFOAM is a great product and I have used it for years. I regularly add it to the fuel for all my gas engines (lawnmowers included) and also did so with my 7.3 P-Stroke the entire time I owned it.. I regularly recommend it to my customers as well as we have a lot of gas units (Mowers, and Gens especially) that sit for extended periods when the SNOWBIRDS head home. The SEAFOAM not only keeps the fuel system clean but also acts as a very good fuel stabilizer.

In the last week I have treated all three or our vehicles (95 RODEO, 2001 X-TERRA, 2001 RODEO) using SEAFOAMS prescribed methods..

1/3 can in the fuel tank, 1/3 can in the crankcase, 1/3 can to the intake using the brake booster vacuum line (I use a small funnel BTW).
I also use SEAFOAM spray *DEEPCREEP* in the throttle body itself or a smaller vacuum line when possible.

*Couple things I noted when using the SEAFOAM*..
The other day when doing the RODEO'S I was able to apply DEEPCREEP through the Throttle body NO PROB.. However when doing the X-TERRA I noted the eng simply would NOT run (IDLE) without the A/Bx and all it's components connected. My only options on this eng were the brake booster line and a smaller line coming from the intake to one of the EVAP connectors..

According to SEAFOAM it is perfectly fine/safe to use this product in the crankcase until your next scheduled oil change which I fully intend to do... At this time my Sons RODEO (the 95) uses NO oil at all & doess not "tick "but I plan to use about 1/2 can in the crankcase right before the next oil change, and the other 1/2 can in my WIFE'S X-TERRA so they both get a good cleaning..

CalG wrote:Just what "benefit" does having a clean engine inside really provide?

I've seen some manky heads and cam drive boxes, but the engine seemed to run just fine.

As far as cleaner induced by mixing with the fuel or sucked in through a vacuum port...I can't see any real improvements. Water works pretty well to dislodge carbon from a piston crown.

Keeping the fuel delivery system clean is a good thing to be sure!

I think it's pretty much common knowledge that engines (in fact most any machine in general) function and or work better and more efficiently when they are clean.
That being said I've worked with engines in some manner for the past 15 years to make a living. Tinkered and did my best to repair my own shitt for many years before that.. In all the engines I've had apart on my bench I can say for certain that CARBON deposits do for sure have the ability to make and engine function much less efficiently at best and destroy it at worst.

Carbon or other deposits can build up on top of the piston and valves thus changing the combustion chamber for one thing. Another potential issue is if these deposits go unchecked they can mess up the valves ability to seat properly. No valve seat, no compression, no vroom vroom as that cylinder will drop. I can't tell you how many valves I've cleaned and or replaced because they were being held open by trash. I've also seen numerous "Broken" valves from pcs of carbon that broke off..
I've seen this in both 2 and 4 stroke engines so both are susceptible to this. Also cleaned many piston tops that were covered in old nasty crap..

I can also see the value of a clean engine in that it keeps the oil return holes clean and clear allowing the correct lubrication, oil return, & oil pressure.

Yup, I've heard that water will dislodge stuff but I aint puttin water in my engine except for the cooling system. Petroleum products will compress and burn, water won't.. I'm sure you don't mean using a fire hose but I'm not using that method on any of my stuff or the hundreds of engines I repair daily..

While I have no scientific proof I wonder "IF" this SEAFOAM (and other additives) allow the deposits to be 'cleaned and burned" rather then "dislodged" and sent through the engine? Maybe I'll call SEAFOAM or shoot them an E-mail just fer shitts and grins?

We do have a product at the shop that is used for "decarbonizing" a combustion chamber.. When the chamber is filled (Piston @ TCD Comp stroke) and allowed to soak overnight this stuff is supposed to eat/dissolve these deposits not just make them fall off.

YES we can surely agree on a CLEAN fuel system being a GOOD thing.. I just think of the "system" extending into the valve train and combustion chamber..

I understand that, it is after all "Just a DODGE", not much point in messin with it anyway especially if it's still running..

Just kidding of course, I much prefer the 7.3 Motor and FORDS truck in general but that's just me.. If'n I was going to buy another I think I'd like the CUMMINS Motor in the FORD F-250 Truck..
THAT would be a SWEET RIG fer sher..

Knocking bits loose to get caught again in the wrong places....Not so good.

Will "Sea Foam", through the intake and in the gas, remove carbon accumulations from piston crowns or valve faces ? I doubt it. Perhaps if used continuously, but the recent gasoline adverts suggest I can just "drive my engine clean" by way of additives from the refinery ;-)

The only time the combustion chambers build harmful carbon deposits is when there is something else wrong. Too much fuel or oil getting past the rings. Usually these problems show up on the spark plugs long before engine knocking becomes an issue.

I have an old tractor that includes in the owner's hand book the procedure to "decoke" the combustion chamber. Head removal, (side valve) scrape off the big pieces etc. Be sure to grease the cylinder walls before raising the piston to TDC to prevent carbon from lodging above the top ring ;-). I have NEVER needed to do that procedure in the 25 years I have had the tractor, and I have had to disassemble the engine twice in that time. Once for a clutch throw out bearing, and once to re-pour the babbit bearings on the crank. (It's a wet clutch, and I have not the hoisting equipment to lift off the entire engine, so disassembly is part of engine removal)

When I was a boy, we used to flood a running engine with kerosene until it died. Let it sit a day, then start it up and run it hard until the white smoke cleared. An Italian tune up in America's bread basket. Great fun!
Carbon build up was mostly an issue before modern day engine controls. I have had the heads off many engines. In our time, destructive combustion chamber accumulations are just not an issue!

While there are a number of reasons build up can happen and some of them are related or caused by other issues this is not always the case.

NO build up at all would require a complete burn in the combustion chamber equating to 100% efficiency which simply is not possible.

I've seen and repaired engines suffering from most any conceivable malady. An engine with no crosshatch left will have oil blow by but this is an easy to diagnose condition using my Leak Down tester. This same tester will also tell me if a Valve is bad and I generally perform this test after a compression check reveals a problem. Valves can and do get enough build up on them that they simply no longer seat, I've fixed a 100 of them..

A Bad valve guide seal allows oil in the combustion chamber but generally the eng will have a pretty obvious oil smoke issue.

While almost never done (until failure) KAWI recommends on some of their commercial TWIN cyl motors the heads be removed and the combustion chamber cleaned/de-carboned every so many 100 hours. This isn't done for any reason but to maintain efficiency and to keep the valve train working as it should.

I'm not saying SEAFOAM is a snakeoil cure all, nor the Greatest single thing ever sold but I do think proper application can yield benefits..

Far as "Driving your Engine clean", I think a good fuel additive may very well help in the beginning stages of build up or may even limit/reduce build up if used regularly but I suspect it can't/won't "Clean" a terribly dirty engine no matter how much or how long you use it.

You can try some stuff but you will probably just have to live with the noise unless you want to dig in and replace the worn parts. I had a 94 Rodeo for years with that rattle and it ran fine, just noisy. I tried all the tricks too and nothing really helped the ticking.

99 Rodeo, 3.2L Auto, Manual hubs, "Trooper lift".

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